Teen busted with 3kg of meth
A year 12 student busted couriering about $270,000 of meth did not realise he was under police surveillance when he collected the drugs from a Mermaid Beach motel.
The 17-year-old aspiring doctor was pulled over in April last year at Surfers Paradise by officers who had tracked another man who first drove the drugs from NSW to Queensland.
The Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday was told that when police intercepted the teenager after witnessing the handover at a Gold Coast motel, they discovered almost 3kg of methylamphetamine inside a bag. The teen, who cannot be identified because he was a juvenile at the time of the offending, pleaded guilty to possessing dangerous drugs and was sentenced to a two month probation order with no conviction recorded.
Defence barrister Kim Bryson said the boy had an unremarkable childhood, was raised in a supportive environment and was now studying full time at university with a goal of becoming a doctor.
“Your honour, considering all the material before the court, on my submission the court could be confident (the defendant) will not be returning,” she said.
Chief Justice Helen Bowskill said the offending was “extremely serious” and she hoped it would be a one-off mistake for the now 18-year-old.
“To have anything to do with methylamphetamine is serious,” she said. “But to be participating even as a cog in the wheel, a courier, in making it possible for such a huge quantity of methylamphetamine to get to our streets and to affect the people who are affected by drug addiction is very serious.”
Queensland Police Acting Commissioner